TOW the Overabundance of Past and Tragedy
by DarkViolet1461
Summary: Tragedy strikes the Bing household when Chandler's past comes back to haunt him. It's just proves that letting go of your past isn't always easy.
1. Chapter 1

_Author Note: I do not own any of the Friends characters. Reviews and criticism welcome. Enjoy!_

Jack and Erica enter the house and place their backpacks on their hook in the mudroom, knowing how much trouble they will be in with their mother if they don't. The house is surprisingly quiet and eerie; the twins should have been greeted by their father by now. The twins look to one another with fear. Jack grabs his sister's hand and turns toward the rest of the house.

"Dad," Jack yells out at the top of his lungs. "We're home!"

The house goes dead quiet with no response. Erica steps closer to her brother and squeezes his hand in fear.

"Daddy," Erica tries, "where are you?"

Again, no response comes. The twins' breathing picks up as fear spreads throughout their entire bodies.

"Jack," Erica whispers, "I'm scared."

"It's ok Erica," Jack answers as he faces her. He can see the fear in her wide eyes that are brimming with tears. To help reassure her and himself, he pulls his sister into a quick hug. "I'm going to look for Dad. Maybe he's taking a nap."

"I'll come with," Erica answers, not wanting to be alone.

Jack nods and leads her up the stairs slowly as they continue to call out for their father. The second's ticks by slowly, feeling like minutes are agonizingly going by. At the top of the stairs, the twins hesitate to move forward. The door to their parents' bedroom is ajar. Jack calls out one more time before letting go of Erica's hand and creeping up to the door.

"Jack," Erica whispers out with a shaky voice. Jack turns to her and tries to give her a reassuring smile.

"It's ok," he answers. "Just stay there, I'll be right back."

Jack turns back to the door before Erica can answer. He pushes the door open slowly as he whispers for his dad. The site in the room makes his heart feel like someone is squeezing it as it picks up speed and his breath catches in his throat. Lying on the floor with half his body in the bathroom is his father Chandler, his right hand resting in a pool of his own vomit. His head is facing the door with closed eyes.

"Dad!" Jack yells out in pure fear. He runs over to Chandler and starts shaking him as tears begin to flow down his face. "Wake up!"

Erica runs into the room when she hears Jack yell. She stops in her tracks when she sees Jack crying. Her legs buckle from under her and she begins to ball in utter fear. Hearing his sister crying and getting no response from his father, Jack runs to the end table and grabs the phone before booking it down the stairs. He stops in the kitchen and begins to look for the paper with phone numbers his parents printed for emergencies. Finally finding it in one of the drawers, Jack places it on the dinner table and dials his mother's work number quickly.

Jack holds his breath as the phone rings. He starts to rock on his heels impatiently as he waits for someone to pick up the line. On the fourth ring, someone picks up and gives the standard greeting of the restaurant his mother works at.

"Can I speak to Monica Bing please?" Jack asks with a shaky voice as he tries to control his fear.

"One moment please."

The line switches to classical music as Jack is put on hold. He starts to pace around the table as he waits to hear his mother's voice, mumbling to himself. He has never felt so anxious in his little life. Eventually, the music stops and Jack hears the familiar voice of his mother.

"Monica Bing speaking, how may I help you?"

"Mom you need to come home," Jack answers pleadingly.

"Jack, sweetie, you know I'm working late tonight."

"I know, but—"Jack tries to interrupt while bouncing on his heels impatiently.

"You father should be home with you and Erica."

"He is, but mom—"

"Then whatever the problem is, you can tell your father."

"No mom, listen to me—"

"You and I can talk about it tomorrow when you get home from school."

"Dad won't wake up."

Monica stops talking, confused by Jack's last statement. What does he mean by "won't wake up"?

"What?"

"I can't wake Dad up."

"What do you mean you can't wake him up?"

"Erica and I found him in your bedroom asleep, and there is barf next to him. I tried to wake him up, but he won't even move."

Silence follows as Monica takes in what her son is trying to tell her. The unknown of the situation puts a hole in the pit of her stomach from fear for her husband.

"Jack, I need you to call your Aunt Rachel. She has the day off today. Have her check on your father and give me a call back. I'll see what I can do to leave early tonight, ok? I love you."

"Okay, I love you too."

They both hang up and Jack looks at the paper for his Aunt's number. He fumbles with dialing on the phone, but eventually gets it right. Eventually, a woman answers the phone and Jack wastes no time, trying to explain everything as fast as he can. He doesn't want to waste anymore time.

"Jack," Rachel interrupts. "Slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Mom told me to call you to come over to wake up Dad and then call her at work. I can't get Dad to wake up."

"Um, ok I'll be right over," Rachel answers, not understanding what is going on. Due to her own experience with Emma, she understands young children can overreact and exaggerate, and can't always explain things well.

Jack sets the phone on the table and runs upstairs to tell Erica, who is still up in their parents' bedroom crying. He stops in his tracks again when he enters the room. Erica is lying with her head buried in their father's back, whispering for him to wake up.

"Erica," Jack whimpers with a start. Erica lifts her tear-streaked face and meets his eyes. "Let's go downstairs and wait for Aunt Rachel."

"What about Dad?" Erica asks between sobs, not wanting to leave him alone.

"Aunt Rachel will be able to help Dad when she gets here. Please come wait with me?"

Erica takes one last look at her father before getting up and running out of the room, grabbing Jack's hand on the way out, and continuing down the stairs. She unlocks the front door, opens it, and sits on the front step. Erica leans into Jack, laying her head on his shoulder as Jack wraps his arm around her as they wait for their aunt's arrival.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author Note: Sorry it took so long to update, the holiday, school, and work got in the way. Also not the happiest with this chapter. Hopefully will start updating sooner. I have a rough outline for the next few chapters so that will help me stay on track. Again, I do not own any of the Friends characters. Reviews and criticism welcome._

Rachel turns onto the street Monica and Chandler live on. The first thing she notices as she gets closer is that Jack and Erica are sitting outside on the front step. Hearing a vehicle approaching on the street, the twins look up in anticipation, ringing their little hands in worry. Noticing their aunt's vehicle pulling up in the driveway, they stand up and run over to the driver's side. Rachel opens the door in confusion and steps out while Emma, who is in the back seat, follows suit.

"Hey guys," Rachel starts. She can see the fear in their puffy, red eyes. Jack wastes no time by grabbing his aunt's hand and pulling her towards the house. Erica grabs Emma's hand forcefully, unintentionally squeezing hard. Emma is about to comment, but stops when she sees the tears in her cousin's eyes and notices she is shaking. Erica turns towards the front door and leads Emma inside.

Jack pulls Rachel slowly up the stairs as Emma stops Erica inside. Her mom had explained to her that they were stopping by to check on her Uncle Chandler, but that's all she was told. From the way her cousins are acting, Emma suspects that something must be wrong with Uncle Chandler.

"Erica, what's going on?" Emma asks, trying to piece everything together. Erica looks up at her cousin's face with tears in her eyes and struggles to keep herself from crying again. She wishes she didn't have to talk about it, wanting nothing more than to be in her dad's arms as she told him about her day. Since he isn't waking up, she wishes her mom was here instead of her aunt and cousin.

"Dad is upstairs and he won't wake up," Erica answers after letting out a sigh. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath. "We don't know why."

"Ok," Emma answers softly, not wanting to upset her cousin further. Although it didn't quite answer her question, Emma accepts the answer for now and plans to find out everything later.

Erica takes Emma's hand and leads her up the stairs at a quick pace to catch up to Jack and Rachel. Jack stops at the top of the stairs and looks back at Erica, checking on her. She gives him a quick nod to show she is okay and to lead on. Jack slowly walks closer to his parents' bedroom and stops. He looks up at his aunt and points inside.

"He's in there on the floor partially in the bathroom," Jack explains slowly.

Rachel looks at Jack confused. Her heart is pounding from anticipation of the unknown. She takes a few steps into the bedroom and immediately sees Chandler. Her hands cover her mouth as she gasps and lets out a sob. She runs over and tries to shake him awake in desperation. She stops after a few minutes and, while studying Chandler more closely, tries to think of what to do next.

Chandler's face has turned to an ashen color and his hair is sticking to his face from what she can only guess is sweat. His clothes feel wet to the touch and his body feels cold. When Rachel looks at his face again, she can see his lips turning a faint blue. Blue is never a good color to see on someone who is unconscious.

Rachel stands up and makes her way to the closet that she knows Monica keeps the guest bedding. On her way out into the hall, she tells Emma in a shaky voice to take the twins downstairs and to watch TV until she comes to grab them. Emma obeys and leads the twins down the stairs as Rachel grabs a blanket before running back into the bedroom. She drapes the blanket over Chandler, pulls out her cell phone, and dials 9-1-1.

"911 Westchester dispatch," the dispatcher begins calmly. "What's your emergency?"

"Yeah, hi" Rachel begins shakily, her voice cracking. "I need an ambulance sent right away. My friend is unconscious."

"What's the address?" the dispatcher asks while keeping a calm demeanor. Rachel gives the address and becomes a bit irritated when the dispatcher repeats it and asks for an apartment number. Rachel starts pacing around the bedroom, not able to take her eyes off Chandler's lifeless body.

"Yes that's the right address and no there is no apartment number. Just hurry."

"I just need to ask a few more questions. What symptoms does your friend have?"

"He's unconscious, cold, and his lips are blue."

"Is your friend breathing or bleeding?"

"I don't know. I don't see any blood," Rachel answers shakingly, fumbling over each word. She places her hand on her forehead and tries to control her nerves.

"Is he breathing?"

"I–I don't know. Please just send an ambulance. I don't know what to do. I don't–Please help my friend."

"How long has your friend been unconscious?"

"I don't know. Stop asking all these questions and just send someone _now_!"

"I have an ambulance on its way. I'm just trying to give them as much information as I can. Please stay on the line until they arrive. It's a precaution in case any information you gave changes or anything new comes up."

"Finally," Rachel mumbles under her breath. "I have to make a call on the house phone."

Without waiting for a response, Rachel searches the bedroom for the home phone. In her hurry to find the phone to call Monica, she fights back tears of frustration. Taking a moment to recompose herself, she makes her way downstairs and finds a phone in the office. She picks it up and runs up the stairs, struggling to dial Monica's cell phone number. With no luck, she is sent straight to voicemail both the times she tries to call.

While being careful not to hang up on the operator, Rachel searches her saved numbers for Monica's work number. Finding it successfully, she dials the number and starts pacing in the hall as she waits for someone to pick up.

A man answers the phone and Rachel asks for Monica, telling him it's an emergency. She continues to pace as she waits with a phone held to each ear. Luckily, she doesn't have to wait long to hear her frantic friend's voice.

"Mon it's Rachel," she starts, trying to keep her voice steady and calm. "You have to come home right now."

"What's wrong with Chandler?" Monica rushes as her voice cracks. "Is he okay? What's that noise?"

Sirens can be heard in the background getting closer. Rachel runs down the stairs and out the front door. She can see the ambulance turn onto the street and head in her direction.

"It's the paramedics," Rachel answers. "Chandler is unconscious and —"

Rachel pauses, wondering if she should tell Monica how he looks and his blue lips. Blue lips are never a good sign and she doesn't want to scare Monica more.

"What is it? Rach?"

Before Rachel can make up her mind, the ambulance pulls up into the driveway. Rachel tells the operator of their arrival and hangs up before leading them into the house and up into the bedroom. The paramedics carefully roll Chandler onto his back and check his ABCs; airway, breathing, and circulation. One of the paramedics begins CPR while the other hooks him up to an AED. Rachel stands with her back against the wall and holding the phone loosely, forgetting that Monica is still on the line.


End file.
